Dianne, a 54-year-old mother of two, suffered two sophisticated crypto investment scams. CEL Solicitors helped her recover £9,323.
How the first online investment scam occurred
Our client, Dianne, was encouraged to invest in ‘Senexa’. The company operated on a 90-day scheme which involved making an initial payment and seeing it make significant profit over 90 days. At the end of this period, Dianne was advised that she would have the choice to withdraw her funds or reinvest into another plan.
Having never previously invested, Dianne was excited at the opportunity to earn some extra cash, particularly from a company that she had heard many people talk about. She researched the company thoroughly, found many positive reviews, and a website which appeared legitimate.
When logging into her online account, Dianne could see a live account balance which showed that she was making a profit from her initial investment. Because of this, the client decided to invest further, hoping to see it increase. However, shortly before the 90-day plan expired, Dianne was unable to log into her account. The web page was taken down, making it impossible for her to contact the company or access her funds. It was then that our client realised that she had been defrauded.
How the second online investment scam occurred
In an attempt to retrieve her lost funds, Dianne decided to try another investment plan. She carried out further due diligence by researching the company, ‘BitPam Ltd’, and found that they had positive Facebook reviews, a Companies House page, and a registered London-based address.
After creating an account with the fraudulent company, Dianne was given access to a live account balance which she saw increase as she made small investments and profited off them greatly. Our client began to suspect that the investment opportunity was a scam after she was refused withdrawals of her funds and was unable to contact the company.
Tell CEL Solicitors
After realising that she had fallen victim to another scam, Dianne contacted Action Fraud, who advised her to report the scam to her bank. The client spoke with NatWest’s Fraud team, who explained that they could not help in recovering the funds.
Dianne then reached out to CEL Solicitors fraud and scam recovery team, who successfully recovered £9,323.
Commenting on the case, Fraud paralegal, Demi Thomas, said:
“Our client suffered two sophisticated and damaging investment scams. As fraud experts, we know all too well that those who fall victim to one scam are more susceptible to experience further scams as fraudsters often share personal information to retarget victims with new investment or recovery opportunities.
“With the person being in such a vulnerable position after suffering a huge loss, they are likely to be drawn into another scam with hopes of recovering their losses.”
